Chapter 10

The cold ice melted from above the window sills of Munich's apartments, and inside of those, Minha Qureshi was seen lying on her soft bed staring at the ceiling above. There was a lot going on in her mind. And if you zoom in, you'd look into a lot of history of their family.

Everybody was telling her different stories. Which, thus, was an evidence that none of them was speaking truth. Mr. Peters. Head of Aim High School. And involved in illegal trade with white community. She busted a fist beneath the surface of her fist and pursed her lips so hard that it hurt. She brought her hands to her head and swapped her hair back lifting her back from the comforting place. She was stressed. She was freaking out. She was panicking. And the only possible solution to her problems was meeting her best friend. Not Kay if you are thinking like that, just in case.

She changed into her Blue sweatshirt which had "Bullshit" written in front of it with golden. And her black Jeans. Jabbing the suitcase in one corner, she cleaned her room and climbed into her black boots tracing down the building to the Bakery.

"Two swift rolls please." Her arms resting against the cold counter, and her knees shivering, she was still standing out with a straight face.

"Good day, kid! Where were you this weekend?" Gran smiled a wrinkled one. Her poor face was delightful.

"Pakistan." She dabbed the money behind the calculator. "I went to my homeland. I went to Pakistan with Kay." She unpacked the rolls and munched. Gran stared at her and smiled again.

"Did something happened?" She was interested now.

"I met my sister." She said.

"Something more than that. Come on tell me." Then from out of nowhere, Gale appeared. She touched him and then fluffed his head. He wanted a bite and she wasn't in a mood to share her food. She shooed him away. Gran looked concern with that crooked smile on her face.

"Gran, you really gonna make me say it." She munched on the last bite of the first roll and unwrapped the other one.

"Do you know about cat buglers?" She asked. She looked serious, and gran was waiting for some tea.

"They steal without anyone's knowing?" She guessed.

"Exactly, they are pretty talented, aren't they?" She pretended like an innocent kid with her swelled cheeks and wide eyes.

"What's going on in your mind, kid?" Gran's investigating eyes coned at the silver-blonde girl who was finishing up her another roll.

"You looked pretty in that skinny peach dress Gran. Pa may take you to Rothenberg ob. der Taube someday." She winked and walked back to her apartment.

Switching on her laptop, she googled Aim high school and the fake scandal story that was told to everyone. The first image that appeared on the site was of Sir Johnson Peters, the head of Fellowship Kinder high school. She pushed her rolling chair so hard that it hit the wall behind and rolled back as a reaction. Newton invented the law; every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

A smirked appeared on her pale face and lighted it. She got up and grabbed her white leather bag. It was 5 in the evening. Her part time job. But before that her hobby center.

It was a three floored glass building framed with special dry wood frames. An art piece. An institute for all the art works. People of Munich, used to originate multiple art pieces, the best art pieces were selected and were sold to great artists who had their works in auction. The artists got good prices for their works sold by institute of arts. And Minha was among the institute's artists. She never looked forward to any selection, she used to go there to pour her thoughts.

That day, she poured the colors over the canvas. The flames of fire, the storm of weed, the tornado of universal solvent, everything inside her which was quite outside, burned on the canvas. The tip of brush moved across the fabric, swiftly and thoroughly. She was determined. She was enthusiastic but still. The infernos that swirled with the wind and vanished with their tails touching the sky. The lanky tree sore and fertile on its ground. Its stretched roots holding its yanking prisoner tightly, where the sharp ancestries swiped the flesh of the innocent prisoner and with every scream the fire gifted the panting earth a tray of ashes and the scream strapped itself to its limits.

The shades of orange, and grey mixed with the dark blue sky. The painting cried with every pin of pain. Like she did in her dreams. Like she freaked in her nightmares. It was powerful. Different. Something she never painted. And at the end, her face tinted in sweat as if she would have been gone near the fire and would have been brought back by the knock at her back.

"Miss Qureshi, I think you are done." Harris. It was the old man. Smiling his old same kinked smile.

"Hey!" she said after a long time of decision of words. When Miss Jean's shoes tap was heard, both of them rotated to the sound. She was clapping. "Wow, Minha. This is gorgeous. This piece. This is legendary. Dr. Harris wants to buy this for the auction!" She was astounded. The smile that appeared on her face a while ago, disappeared. "Dr. Harris?" She twisted her neck to the old man's face. "Is an artist and a nominee in auction-" She paused and narrowed her eyes, "Who wants to buy MY art?" She raised her eyebrows.

"Unfortunately yes, Miss. You are right." He folded his hands forward and looked comprehensive. And keen not to mention.

"Great." She stood up. "But this one is not to sell, Dr. Harris." Why would she sell her nightmare? She excused and started walking out of the institute. Or wait, why did she even paint this? She couldn't be afraid of her nightmares. Nightmares are natural. They are powerful. But to face them, one should learn to play with them. Her face loosened the tight expression.

"How much are you going to pay me, Dr. Harris?" She asked walking back to those remaining two people in the institute. She had exactly 10 minutes to 5 to make the deal.

He smiled looking impressed. And they made a beneficial deal which could help Minha in future. Who knows?

She was walking down the roads of Munich, blonde hair tied in a bun, and she was walking in her blue "Bullshit" shirt. Her feet led her to THE VETS. She was working as a vet assistant for DR. Morse who paid her well enough. Time was bounded, she had only 2 hours to work.

"Good day, Doctor." She shut the door behind her. He was busy in thoughts. "No patients?" She asked when he didn't answer. "I thought there were a lot of people outside. Doctor, you okay?" She sounded worried. He picked his head up which looked more of a scrambled brown nest. His pale green eyes were anxious.

"Yeah, sorry. Start calling them." He ordered and started putting on his coat. She went out, picked up the cards with the name of the patient and their numbers. Called out the first person and disappeared in the kitchen. She pulled out apple cider from the fridge and poured it into a glass with spiral designs on it. Dipping three ice cubes in it, she sets the glass in a saucer and jumps out of the kitchen and to Doctor's room where a squirrel was under observation. She offered him the glass and he took it with his pale and needy green eyes. She smiled and looked at the next patient's name. Time went by and suddenly the door of the vets was jerked open. Everyone's attention in the waiting room was attracted to the new comer.

It was him. In his normal light blue button down shirt. Sleeves rolled to the elbows. His hair falling on his forehead. Taimur Ibrahim came rushing in with his dog licking excessively in his arms. She looked a lot shaved. "Emergency! Please treat her. She is dying!" He cried and she took his dog from him and took him inside to DR. Morse. "Wait outside please!" She said leaving the manager outside.

"Is she going to die?" She asked Dr. Morse. He pressed his temple while surveying the helpless animal.

"She shows symptoms of Alabama rot." He said, his hand now at the back of neck.

"What's that?" She asked, impatient to know about manager's pet.

"It is a disease affecting dogs by causing damage to the skin and kidney's blood vessels." He paused, "And in most cases, its incurable." He rubbed his forehead with his two fingers. "Symptoms of the disease are painful skin lesions, sores and ulcers, usually around the paws and lower legs; they can also appear on the dog's face, mouth, tongue and lower body. Usually, this will cause hair loss around the area as well as excessive licking. Like she is doing right now. She is in pain, look in her eyes."

"I did her blood and urine tests, and I don't think her kidneys are working properly. Call the owner." Dr. Morse said. She ran outside, "Patient name: Ally. Owner name: Taimur Ibrahim! DR. Morse needs you in, Please!" She announced and Taimur who was at the door followed her quickly inside the room.

"How long has she been licking herself?" Morse asked Taimur. Taimur, who was sitting right next to Ally, his eyes about to water, looked up at the doctor and thought, "I don't know. I was out." He said. She recalled he was not there on the day of their leaving. She thought he was finally not following them, she didn't know THIS would happen. "Will she be fine?" He asked, apprehensive.

Morse ignored the question, "Who was with her?" He asked and Taimur got up knowing the fact this was a serious conversation. "My…" He stopped. She was looking at his face with pity. She felt bad for him. "My dad." He said, giving up.

"Well, her kidneys are not working properly, Mr. Taimur and…" He hesitated, "She won't be living more."

Taimur's eyes filled up with tears. She felt worse for him. "I am sorry, Ally. It's all my fault. I am so sorry…" It wasn't every day she used to see a 20 year old man crying for his pet. She bent down and faced him, "Sometimes people need reassurance and love instead of regret, Mr. Taimur. Bring her for further tests on Wednesday and Friday." She smiled and Taimur nodded. Picked his dog in his arms like he would pick up a baby and carried it out. When she opened the door she saw Sam waiting outside. Sam walked in. He was black, but he was soft and caring.

"She will die in a few days. Maybe even before Friday." She said. "Saying she will be fine to comfort him would be a lie."

"Cleaver, Min. Go back to your hull. I will take care." Sam moved in and told her to scout. She pursed her lips, picked up her bag and said her goodbyes.

When she walked out, she saw him trying to smile and not to cry. After deciding for a long time, she walked towards him.

"She is pretty." She said sitting across him. He looked around at her. "Yeah." She was expecting sarcasm.

"She seems closer to you." That was dumb enough to say after looking at him cry. "Yeah." Something was wrong. She thought for a while. "You said you left her-"She looked in his eyes, "With your dad. Is everything okay?" She knew she didn't need to bite in someone else's business. But this person seemed to need this. He kept talking to his dog for a while as if Minha wasn't there. She looked away as if Taimur wasn't there.

"My dad isn't a dad, never have been." He started talking. "I wanted to build my own business. I was keen. My teachers passed me on my dreams and said I could work further. But my dad wanted me to look after his hotels and restaurants. He told my sister to go and study abroad since she was 'distracting' me a lot with my decisions. Our father left us when we were young. He is my step dad. Mom is never really free to let us in and fill it. She never paid attention to us. Me and my sister," He paused and looked at Ally. "And Ally have been the only family. He told me to go back to Karachi and look after Royal Inn. But then my house maid told me Ally is sick." He hold back his tears and stayed silent for a few minutes.

"Dad didn't let Anna come back. Neither did he allowed me to. He said, she is fine. I knew something was wrong. And she is gonna die." Tears sifting his emotions and running down his cheek bones. His pale face looked weaker now.

"I should have brought her with me. She suffered for a long time. It's all my fault. I am sorry, Ally. I am so sorry." He bowed his face down to hers and the poor thing's black eyes looked at him in awe. She knew she wasn't going to live. Minha couldn't figure out what she should do. "Would you want to spend the last days of Ally, wiping your tears?" She asked politely.

"For God sake, Minha! Stop telling me the tips to spend last days of loved one. If you can't speak some words of solemn, stay away. I know she is dying. Stop telling me it's my fault." He jerked her hand away and yelled. In most cases, she would have left. But in this case, she didn't. She was surprised to see such a broken manager.

"Manager, living in past won't do any good to you. Accepting it is polite to you and your pet. You are letting her down. She needs you. What's done is done. There is no point in regretting it. Manage the situation." She spoke in a low voice. The tone she used in her serious moments. All she needed to do was pay attention to her own words. "Instead of telling the fate to stop telling you the current tick tock on the life's clock, Manager." She clasped the strap the bag of her bag and stood up with the intention of leaving. She needed to let go of the past. The ties tied to the pas would destroy her. She could not feel the words, but her heart cried the tears of blood. He caught her hand. His hand was cold. "Stay."

She turned and looked at his penurious eyes, in need of healing. She gazed at him. The cold winds kept rushing. The cold ice was melting and growing. The houses near had their lights down and he was still looking in her eyes telling her to stay and don't leave like others. She nodded and smiled. It was hard. But she did a lot of hard things that day.